In a continued legal battle over a class action lawsuit alleging Dogecoin insider trading, attorney Alex Shapiro, representing Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has once again requested the dismissal of the case.
This motion marks the second attempt by Musk’s legal team to put an end to the ongoing litigation, and as the legal battle escalates, drawing attention to the intricate interplay between cryptocurrency, high-profile figures, and legal accountability.
Strategic Move Amid Escalating Battle
The decision to file a second motion for dismissal underscores the determination of Elon Musk’s legal team to swiftly put an end to the protracted litigation. The lawsuit was initiated by a group of Dogecoin investors who claim Musk orchestrated market manipulation and insider trading to inflate the value of the popular meme cryptocurrency.
Attorney Alex Shapiro’s response to the investors’ complaint was sharp and pointed. He framed the latest filing as an example of lawyers overstepping their boundaries and utilizing aggressive litigation tactics. So in the filing, he moved a motion to disqualify sanctions.
In one of his statements, Shapiro stated ” Enough is enough” as the case has been a long-standing one. Musk’s legal team also emphasized the legality of his crypto-related statements, while the case has delved into the nebulous realm of social media influence in financial markets.
Evan Spencer, the lead attorney for the class action lawsuit, has relentlessly pursued Musk and the allegations against him. Spencer has now made a total of three amendments to the lawsuit since its initial filing in June of the previous year, seeking a staggering $258 billion in damages for investors claiming to have been defrauded by the Tesla CEO with his Dogecoin Pyramid Schemes.
DOGE price trading 90% lower than its all-time high price | Source: DOGEUSD on Tradingview.com
Musk’s Relationship With Dogecoin
Dogecoin was designed originally in 2013 as a joke to tease Bitcoin but went from a “meme” to a substantial valuable asset in the cryptocurrency space during 2020 and 2021 especially.
Most of the meme coin’s growth was driven by billionaire Elon Musk, who actively promoted the altcoin to his over 100 million Twitter (Now X) followers at the time.
His initial tweet in April 2019, playfully endorsing Dogecoin as a potential favorite cryptocurrency, ignited a chain reaction that saw subsequent tweets by Musk triggering substantial price fluctuations.
“Dogecoin might be my fav cryptocurrency. It’s pretty cool” Musk tweeted at the time. Musk’s many tweets following this would continuously push DOGE’s price high, reaching as high as $0.7 before the bear market hit.
Since then, DOGE’s price has fallen over 90%, and the class action lawsuit emerged as a result of investors who believed they had fallen victim to a pyramid scheme after buying for high prices.
The elongated legal struggle holds significant implications for the cryptocurrency community and the broader financial world. With Musk’s legal team emphasizing the dismissal of the lawsuit, the outcome could set a precedent for legal battles involving influential figures in the cryptocurrency domain.
Musk appears to be unmoved as he promotes his newly acquired innovation, Twitter, now rebranded as X.
Featured image from Bitcoinist, chart from Tradingview.com
